05/12/2006 - 05/13/2006

Friday, May 12, 2006

FREE EXPORT ADVICE EVENT FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

Free advice for professional services to help their clients develop international trade will be available at a UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) event in Bristol next week.

A free half-day event 'helping Your Clients' Business go Further, Faster' is being held at Veale Wasborough offices, Bristol, on 17 May.
The event, aimed at professional services, such as lawyers and accountants, will help delegates identify international strategies for their clients. The event will provide delegates with valuable market and sector information, as well as case study information on businesses.

Report Finds Language Barrier Puts More Than 1 Million Californians at Risk

A new policy brief from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research shows that more than 1 million adult HMO members in California with limited English proficiency are at risk for problems accessing health care services and receiving quality treatment. The study, commissioned by the California Office of the Patient Advocate, illustrates the substantial need for language services in commercial plans, Medi-Cal and Healthy Families. The findings also highlight the importance of recent statutory changes that will require the California Department of Managed Health Care to oversee and regulate language services in licensed HMOs.

"The language barrier impacts every level in the healthcare process, from communicating with your doctor to reading a prescription bottle to understanding important forms," said Gerald F. Kominski, PhD, associate director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and lead author of the study.

taking control of ELT

The Home Office's plan to introduce a uniformed accreditation system into the ELT sector has certainly got teachers talking, writes Liz Ford.

Ministers see a revamp of the government's existing schools' register - run by the Department for Education and Skills - to make compulsory accreditation a requirement of inclusion as a necessary step to protect students from bogus colleges and keep an eye on anyone applying for a visa to study under false pretences.

The problem is, the sector already has three approved accreditation schemes - run by English UK and the British Council, the Association of British Language Schools and the British Association of Lecturers in English for Academic Purposes.

irish doctors' concerns over translation services

GPs who make a mistake because of inadequate translation services for non-Irish national patients, may by held liable and could be dependant on the goodwill of a High Court judge, Dr Martin Daly has said.

The Chairman of the Irish Medical Organisation’s GP Committee told Irish Medical Times that translation services available in the health service “don’t work in the practical sense�?. He said: “It is cumbersome and time consuming�?.
Dr Daly said GPs assume responsibility for the care of these patients, but could also be held liable if they make a mistake.